1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a safe disposable pen needle for use on a medication delivery pen having a cartridge assembly and a pen body assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
Hypodermic syringes are used to deliver selected doses of medication to patients. The prior art hypodermic syringe includes a syringe barrel having opposed proximal and distal ends. A cylindrical chamber wall extends between the ends and defines a fluid receiving chamber. The proximal end of the prior art syringe barrel is substantially open and receives a plunger in sliding fluid tight engagement. The distal end of the prior art syringe barrel includes a passage communicating with the chamber. A needle cannula is mounted to the distal end of the prior art syringe barrel, such that the lumen of the needle cannula communicates with the passage and the chamber of the syringe barrel. Movement of the plunger in a proximal direction draws fluid through the lumen of the needle cannula and into the chamber. Movement of the plunger in a proximal-to-distal direction urges fluid from the chamber and through the lumen of the needle cannula.
Medication to be injected with the prior art hypodermic syringe often is stored in a vial having a pierceable elastomeric seal. Medication in the prior art vial is accessed by piercing the elastomeric seal with the needle cannula. A selected dose of the medication is drawn into the chamber of the syringe barrel by moving the plunger a selected distance in a proximal direction. The needle cannula is withdrawn from the vial, and the medication is injected into a patient by moving the plunger in a distal direction.
Some medication, such as insulin is self-administered. The typical diabetes patient will require injections of insulin several times during the course of the day. The required dose of insulin will vary from patient to patient, and for each patient may vary during the course of the day and from day to day. Each diabetes patient will establish a regimen that is appropriate for his or her own medical condition and for his or her lifestyle. The regimen typically includes some combination of a slow or medium acting insulin and a faster acting insulin. Each of these regimens may require the diabetes patient to periodically self-administer insulin in public locations, such as places of employment or restaurants. The required manipulation of the standard prior art hypodermic syringe and vial can be inconvenient and embarrassing in these public environments.
Medication delivery pens have been developed to facilitate the self-administration of medication. One prior art medication delivery pen includes a cartridge holder into which a cartridge of insulin or other medication may be received. The cartridge holder is an elongate generally tubular structure with proximal and distal ends. The distal end of the prior art cartridge holder includes mounting means for engaging a double-ended needle cannula. The proximal end also includes mounting means for engaging a driver and dose setting apparatus as explained further below. A disposable cartridge for use with the prior art cartridge holder includes a distal end having a pierceable elastomeric seal that can be pierced by one end of a double-ended needle cannula. The proximal end of this prior art cartridge includes a plunger slidably disposed in fluid tight engagement with the cylindrical wall of the cartridge. This prior art medication delivery pen is used by inserting the cartridge of medication into the cartridge holder. A prior art pen body then is connected to the proximal end of the cartridge holder. The pen body includes a dose setting apparatus for designating a dose of medication to be delivered by the pen and a driving apparatus for urging the plunger of the cartridge distally for a distance corresponding to the selected dose.
The user of the pen mounts a prior art double-ended needle cannula to the distal end of the cartridge holder such that the proximal point of the needle cannula pierces the elastomeric seal on the cartridge. The patient then selects a dose and operates the pen to urge the plunger distally to deliver the selected dose. The dose selecting apparatus returns to zero upon injection of the selected dose with this prior art medication delivery pen. The patient then removes and discards the needle cannula, and keeps the prior art medication delivery pen in a convenient location for the next required medication administration. The medication in the cartridge will become exhausted after several such administrations of medication. The patient then separates the cartridge holder from the pen body. The empty cartridge may then be removed and discarded. A new cartridge can be inserted into the cartridge holder, and the cartridge holder and pen body can be reassembled and used as explained above.
The above described medication delivery pen is effective and much more convenient for self-administration of medication than the typical hypodermic syringe and separate medication vial. However, after using the prior art double-ended pen needle the user was required to take care in disposing of the pen needle to prevent an accidental needle stick. For example, the prior art double-ended pen needle would be provided to the user with an shield covering the distal end of the pen needle and contained and sealed within an outer cover by a label or sterility barrier. The user would then remove the sterility barrier, use the outer cover to mount the double-ended pen needle to the distal end of the medication delivery pen, remove the outer cover, and perform the injection. Then, the user would use the outer cover to remove the double-ended pen needle from the medication delivery pen and then dispose of the outer cover containing the used double-ended pen needle in a sharps collector.
Since the proximal end of the double-ended needle is not covered prior to placing the used double-ended needle into the sharps collector, there remains a risk of an accidental needle stick occurring if someone touches the proximal point of the double-ended needle inside the outer covering. In addition, there is also the risk that a user would attempt to reshield the needle with the shield rather than simply dispose of the shield, which also raises a risk of an accidental needle stick occurring during such a reshielding process.